Page 91 of The Only Way Out Is Up

“What did he mean that my life would be on the line?” I ask once they’re gone.

“Oh.” Ky flushes a little. “Duels in the Ascent are a little different from the ones in Malkuth. The masters are in the arena alongside the runics.” As my eyebrows go up, she adds hastily, “It’s just a formality! Having a runic try to attack a master is dishonorable, and masters aren’t even allowed to be armed. It just shows that you’re willing to accept a warrior’s risk, or something like that.”

“When were you going to tell me this?”

“I mean—soon.” She looks away. “I was trying to avoid making a big deal out of it. Hardly anyone actually dies in the tournament, I promise.”

“Hardly anyone?”

“You’ll be fine!” She waves her hands wildly and puts on a big smile. “Probably.”

TWENTY-EIGHT

It’s dark and quiet, or as close to either as it gets in the Heap. I snuggle a little closer to Somi, threading his fingers through mine.

“Above the forest, high in the sky, rose the great white moon.” Fara’s voice is far from melodious, left with a permanent rasp from a childhood illness. It is still, to me, the most comforting thing in the world. “The moon shone down on the trees and the blanket of snow, and painted them a dazzling white. It shone down on the animals as they came out to play. First the rabbits, soft-tailed and long-eared, then the foxes with their bright eyes, then the deer with their antlers and even the bear cubs, tumbling and laughing with one another. And then—”

“Is the moon brighter than the sun?” Somi interrupts.

“I don’t think so,” Fara says. “The moon only comes out at night.”

“With the stars,” Somi says. “Is the moon brighter than the stars?”

“The moon is a big circle,” I say. “The stars are just little dots.”

Somi chews his lip. “But there’s a lot of stars. More than a hundred.”

“Someday you’ll have to go and see for yourself,” Fara says with a smile.

“Only if you an’ Taj come with me,” Somi says seriously. “I’d be scared otherwise.”

“I’ll come,” I offer. “I’m not scared of stars.”

“What about bears?”

“Bears aren’t scarier than Twisted.”

“Yes, they are.”

“Are not. Nothing’s scarier than Twisted.”

“I bet a bear could pick up a Twisted and eat it right up.”

“No way.” I turn to Fara, who is already raising her hands in self-defense.

“Don’t ask me! I’ve never met a bear.”

She gets up from our bed, putting Little Forest Stories carefully on the table. Somi and I give simultaneous groans.

“I know, I know,” Fara says. “There’ll be more tomorrow. But I’ve got to go, all right? You know what to do if anything happens?”

“Out the back door,” Somi says.

“And right to Arnold’s place,” I finish.

“Good.” She kisses us each once on the forehead. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

We wait while her footsteps fade away. When the front door closes with a screech, we know she’s gone. I close my eyes, feeling Somi’s fingers twitching slightly in mine.